We’re back with part two of our Raven Guard review, you can check out part 1, here! This time we take a closer look at the very cool Pinion Battle Demi-Company. Be sure to go to the Tactics Corner for more great reviews and tactics articles!
The Pinion Battle Demi-Company takes elements of the very awesome Battle Demi-Company with support from the 10th company scout units to create a whole greater than the sum of its parts.
Overview:
The Pinion Battle Demi-Company is a very cool, very fluffy detachment that allows you to field the iconic units of the Raven Guard in new, and effective ways. By taking the familiar codex structure (Battle Demi-Company) and giving it some slight tweaks, you get a familiar army (Space Marines) played in a uniquely Raven Guard way.
The formation is comprised of the following:
- 1 Captain or Chaplain (Can’t take Termie armor on the Captain or Chaplain)
- 0-1 Command Squads
- 3 Tactical Squads
- 1 Assault Squad
- 1 Devastator Squad
- 1-5 units of Scouts and/or Scout Bikers
Special Rules:
- Scout Support: In the shooting phase, each Scout Sarge or Vet Sarge can grant the Ignores Cover USR to another unit from this formation that is within 9.”
- Wayfinders: A unit of Scouts or Scout Bikers in this formation can escort another unit from the formation onto the tabletop, including via Outflank even if the escorted unit normally can’t. You roll 1 reserve roll for both units, and so long as both units come on the table within 9″ of one another, the unit being led by the Scouts has Stealth until the start of its next turn.
Tactics:
So how to use this formation? It presents some fairly unique play-style options, particularly when taken as a part of the Talon Strike Force “Decurion” style detachment. On its own, you can have a lot of fun with it. The ability to Outflank other units such as Tactical Marines with escorting Scouts, who then grant them Ignores Cover and Stealth for a game turn is very useful. You can save points on Transport vehicles by bringing in some 5 man Tactical squads toting a Melta and Combi Melta (or whichever special weapon you prefer) behind a 5 man Scout squad, and cause major disruption in the backfield. With Stealth, you gain increased defense too, and if you are playing Raven Guard Chapter Tactics (and you can use any CTs with this formation in case you were wondering) in the Talon Strike Force (only available to Raven Guard) you can start rolling for those reserves on turn 1 due to the Command Benefit, Know When to Strike. This means you can also have a situation where your units come on with Stealth from this formation and Shrouding from the Raven Guard CTs.
The Assault Squad in the formation can be used traditionally with Jump Packs (a great place for the obligatory Captain or Chaplain to go!) or in a Drop Pod where you can create a list that fully null deploys and then starts coming out of reserves en masse, turn 1. You can also of course do this with Deep Striking Jump Packs, but the Drop Pod is certain to come in, which makes it easier to formulate your battle plan by eliminating variables. This unit can also function as an effective screening unit to other uiits in your army arriving via Deep Strike with Raven Guard CTs, as they will have Shrouding, jumping them up to a 3+ or 2+ cover save behind them in most cases.
The Devastator squad in the formation lend themselves to taking weapons such as Las Cannons and then sitting in the back next to a unit of Sniper Scouts and gaining Ignores Cover from them, which is–obviously–really good. The Sniper Scouts hanging out with them can also take the very characterful Nihilus relic sniper rifle which we will get into further depth about in an upcoming article. Basically it grants Split Fire, is AP3 and is strength 6, armorbane vs. vehicles. Sweet!
If you opt to take a unit of Scout Bikers in this formation, they can provide fantastic combo opportunities for you with other formations such as the Shadowstrike Kill Team or Skyhammer Annihilation formation. You slap a Homing Beacon on the Scout Bikers and deep strike in without scattering. With units that come in turn 1 and assault from reserves, that can be a brutal combination!
The weakness of this formation compared to a Battle Demi-Company is the lack of ObSec. ObSec really cannot be understated. It is just so good for most missions. The question you have to ask yourself is: would I rather have units coming in from multiple threat vectors, potentially with Ignores Cover on any unit I choose, or the ability to decisively take objectives from my opponent? I think in most instances, you will want to go with ObSec, but it isn’t totally clear-cut. In my games with the Pinion Battle Demi-Company I felt that it was slippery enough and packed enough punch to bear serious consideration in a Raven Guard army. Plus, it is honestly just a ton of fun to play!
Nice review, super cool formation. Would be great if Lias issodon was on the list of captains you could take!
+1 to that!
I have a feeling that Raven Guard armies using the Pinion will be a lot more Infantry based than most other Marines list we see out there. Most of the lists I’ve come up with for 1850 using either the Talon Strike Force Detachament or a combination of the new Formations number between 70-90 models. Heck, Reece’s list was almost a 100 in the last Twitch Battle Report showcasing the Raven Guard!
Since RG don’t get Objsec i think that they will either have to kill the opponent’s units very quickly or find a way to bring some in their list via CAD or, as I will be trying out soon, the new Stormbringer Formation from the White Scar part of Warzone Damocles: Kau’yon. Either way, in goes without saying that RG players will have to play smartly in objective based mission, using terrain and blocking units to secure their objectives.
Uhh, yes, I play Space marines, the most elite fighting force in the galaxy. Squads of them can fight subjugate planets.
*Dumps 100 models on the table*
I know, it’s funny how Marines have become a horde army, isn’t it?
Agreed! Ratpors would LOVE those formations.
Just a quick note, while it’s not very Raven Guard-y, if you have dedicated transports on the units coming in from Outflank, they ALSO get stealth on that turn. STEALTHY VEHICLES!
Nice catch!
I can’t see using this formation outside of the Talon Strike Force. I mean…MAYBE with Raptor CT?
Imperial fists maybe? Reroll hits of 1on bolter shots is nice considering the amount you’ll have in the list. Tank Hunter and Ignore Cover go very well together me think…
Not a bad idea, if I was going that route, i’d consider a Imperial fist Pinion company and a min CAD of Raptors to get Lias Issodon, so as to infiltrate the Tactical marine squads. Grab some Grav cannons/guns into those squads, and a few scout squads to give them and the devastators ignore cover.
Maybe bring a librarian along in the Raptors CAD as they have access to the Raven Guard relics, bring the Relic that gives shrouding and stick him in with the Devs as a mini buffmander. Fill the rest of the Raptors CAD with two small Scout squads.
Round off the force with whatever floats your boat.
Probably not a uber army compared to some stuff, but would have tons of flexibility and be fun to play I reckon.
Mmmm, possibly. Ignores Cover is a really strong ability, but most of the bonuses of the Talon Strike Force are actually quite mediocre- the only really tournament-relevant one is arriving with reserves on the first turn, and that can actually be a disadvantage in some scenarios (when you’re trying to dodge an alpha strike, etc) and relying on it requires finding a way to more-consistently bring in your reserves, since the TSF does not get a fortification slot, nor a good way to bring a Librarian or any other type of reserve shenanigans.
The TSF is great for reserve tactics and yes, I agree you really want to build in a way to manipulate your reserves such as with Issodon.
A little late to this party but I have a question. The paragraph at the start of the formation page says you can only use the data sheets mentioed on the “following pages” for this formation. The Skyhammer is not mentioned. So can you take that as a stand alone formation?